It has been two years since Sega's Virtua Tennis 3 was released, a game praised for its striking realism and exciting gameplay. Judging by our first hands-off look at the latest instalment in the definitive tennis series--Virtua Tennis 2009--the interim time was well spent. Virtua Tennis 2009 will also see the game's Wii debut alongside mainstay platforms the PS3, Xbox 360, and PC. The game is promising online play, a variety of playable real-life tennis pros, and none of the glitches of its predecessors.

　　Three new camera views get you closer to the action than ever before.

　　Our recent hands-off time with a work-in-progress build showed off the exhibition mode, which lets you pick from an impressive lineup of pros and pick a competitor to battle against in a quick match. Unfortunately, Sega had approved only a small selection of players--including Rafael Nadal, Andy Roddick, Roger Federer, Maria Sharapova, and Andy Murray--but reps on hand did promise a Wimbledon-worthy lineup by the time the game is released this May. Player models were detailed and looked impressively like their real-life counterparts. Even the sound effects are spot-on, complete with detailed grunts and serving moans. We tried out Roger Federer and Andy Murray, who have both been given a complete set of real-life characteristic moves, including Murray's famous double backhand to go with his realistic-looking digital sideburns.

　　The courts too are realistic reproductions of their real-world locations, filled with colourful fans that yell and cheer at the right times, depending on who is doing what on the court. We tried out the clay courts of Paris, the faded green grass of London, the red courts of Shanghai, and even the infamous skyscraping helipad court in Dubai. Because this was a hands-off session, we can't give you too many details on controls at this stage, but we can tell you that the game appeared to control very smoothly. Sega has also fixed some of the annoying features from Virtua Tennis 3 that received a lot of complaints. Among those is the dive, which has now been completely taken out, meaning that your player won't uselessly swan dive at a ball that you could have easily made it to. One positive aspect to come out of not actually playing the game was noticing all the small details that we would have otherwise missed, such as Federer's chin stubble in the player close-ups and the fine hairs on the ball standing up as it flies through the air after a serve.

　　The range of camera views on offer in Virtua Tennis 2009 is a big improvement on the other games in the series. Views include the standard classic view, a spectator view that takes the camera right behind the player's torso, and a lower-angle view behind the boundary line, and there's a possibility that the Wii version of Virtua Tennis 2009 will contain a first-person view.

　　Sega talked up the online component of Virtua Tennis 2009, something we weren’t shown but were assured would be more focused and improved than in previous games. The reps did, however, confirm that the only mode currently available for online play is versus, but there is talk of an online tournament mode.

　　Offline single-player provides a little more breadth with Career, Tournament, and Arcade modes and Sega's always creative variety of minigames, which include five new challenges. Of these we saw three in action: Meat Defender, Pot Shot, and Zoo Feeder. In Meat Defender you must protect pieces of steak from the approaching crocodiles by hitting them on the head with tennis balls. Pot Shot turns the court into a giant pool table, where you serve the cue ball to try to pot all the balls within an allocated number of shots. In Zoo Feeder, the aim is to feed animals standing either far left of the court or far right by serving the food that is appropriate for them until they fall asleep. Monkeys like bananas, lions do not, and they'll indicate thusly if you screw it up. Although the minigames sound easy, they get increasingly harder as your skill level goes up.

　　From our brief look at the game, Virtua Tennis 2009 looks to be continuing the series' legacy of quality with its polished look and improved gameplay. Stay tuned for more information as we get closer to the game's release date in May.